Destination Sickness
by I am Katniss Everdeen
Summary: "Malfoys get whatever they want. You're no exception, sweetheart," he grinned, twirling a curl of Hermione's hair around his finger. "When I finally have you, you'll be begging me to never let you go."
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: we shall begin at the beginning and end at the end.

Destination Sickness: the illness easily caught by a culture that is affluent and godless. feeling as if one has already arrived to the point of extreme happiness and completion, yet lacking a final piece to the puzzle.

* * *

With an emotionally weak mother and absolutely terrifying but affluent father, Draco Malfoy grew up extremely spoiled. Oftentimes his father could use his extensive power and influential figurehead friends in order to get Draco every single thing his little heart desired. Whether it be the top of the line broom that hasn't yet reached the public market or a brand new set of silk and wool winter robes, Draco was never denied anything. In fact, his voracity for everything he wanted was encouraged by his doting mother and formidable father.

Voldemort was no different, of course. Curse a few muggles and kill a couple of traitors and Draco could have anything and everything. Almost everything. He still didn't have the mudblood Granger. But he would change that soon.

Unfortunately for this spoiled rich boy, Draco Malfoy craved something that Voldemort was still attempting to find a way to give to him without arousing suspicion among his followers. As of the moment, it seemed that for once, a Malfoy could not have something that he coveted.

Of course, once Draco came upon this unfortunate realization, he tore apart the manor, cursed his weak and utterly powerless father, and eventually rebelled against Voldemort's wishes.

This was quite a predicament. After all, Draco was meant to be Voldemort's heir. It wouldn't do well for his shining student to stop obeying his orders merely because of an itch he could not scratch.

Nothing that Voldemort did for Draco seemed to alleviate the boy's craving.

The top notch whores weren't able to make it past a mere kiss without Draco brutally cursing them.

Yes, Voldemort had to find a way to secure what Draco wanted; quickly. If he waited any longer, he may risk losing his only heir.

Voldemort began to plan.

* * *

Draco rolled his eyes and shoved the bulldog-nosed Parkinson girl off of his lap. All of his Slytherin comrades sneered and laughed at the pitiful sight before them.

"Drakie, don't you want me?" she cried out pathetically. Draco narrowed his grey eyes at her, curling his upper lip in disgust.

"I don't associate with whores," he stated plainly, before returning to his dark arts notebook.

He heard the pitiable bulldog get off of the floor of the train car that they were in and walk out of their compartment.

"Although I'm worried about whatever diseases she could have passed around to half of Slytherin, was it completely necessary to rile her up, Draco? Now the bint is going to run to Snape and tell him of all the horrible things we've done to her," Theodore Nott complained.

Draco smirked.

"And what makes you think that _my_ godfather would be on the side of the bitch who made her way through all of the Slytherin boys in fifth year and above? She's nothing more than a pitiable slut who can't keep her legs nor her mouth shut. Whatever happens to her, know that she always had it coming. Now someone ward the damned window so the bitch thinks we left if she tries coming back," he sneered.

Both Blaise and Theo smirked, knowing full well that the head of Slytherin would remain on their side no matter what and one of them went to disguising the window.

The three Slytherin boys returned to their own product of mischief, whether it be of the dark arts or transfiguration, and the three of them were silent until they reached Hogwarts.

Draco found that he was slightly less bored whilst thinking about the mudblood, Granger.

He had wanted her for himself since the end of fifth year.

Voldemort couldn't get her for him.

 _If you want a job done right, do it yourself,_ Draco thought, a slow leer appearing on his face.

He knew exactly what he had to do.

* * *

"I'm so excited for this year! I'm just so grateful to finally have the responsibility as Head Girl. I've waited for this moment since I was in third year and-are either one of you even listening to me?"

Hermione glared at her two best friends. Both of them had begun to look at a Quidditch magazine and stopped listening to her.

"God, Hermione, you've just been talking about being excited about being Head Girl since we found out at the beginning of summer. We know you're excited, we're just tired of you blabbering about it," Ron answered exasperatedly.

Hermione fought to keep the hurt off of her face. Ron was just insensitive sometimes. She's known this for years.

"I know I've been talking about it a lot, but I'm just really happy and I wish my two best friends would be as happy for me as I am for them when something good happens to them," she replied icily. Hermione inwardly winced. That was harsh for her. She normally never spoke to either of her friends that way.

Ron and Harry both looked up at her, Harry looked slightly taken aback while Ron's face turned beet red.

Hermione braced herself for the maelstrom that she could already feel taking hold.

"Well maybe if you weren't such a damn bookworm all the time, dragging me and Harry around to things that we couldn't care less about, then we could manage to be more excited for you. But Merlin, Hermione all you do is talk about school and books and being the fucking Head Girl that neither one of us want to hear you talk about it! Right, Harry?" Ron nudged the friend next to him, silently asking for support.

Harry kept his head down, looking anywhere but at his two best friends.

"Harry, do you feel this way about me too?" Hermione asked, having trouble keeping her tears from falling onto her cheeks.

Harry glanced up at her, and shrugged.

"I'm not saying that I resent you because of how bookish you are, because I don't, 'Mione. I just think that you're kind of boring sometimes and me and Ron just don't always want to talk about books and homework, you know? It's nothing against you, really, it's just…you," he finished lamely.

Hermione felt as if she had tried swallowing a fistful of clay. It was beginning to get a bit hard to breathe.

"Excuse me," she muttered, not waiting for a response from either of her two 'friends'.

She nearly ran out of the train compartment, wishing to be as far from Harry and Ron as humanly possible.

She walked around, trying to find a new compartment to sit in.

One of the compartment windows looked pitch black. Hermione sighed.

Thank Merlin, there was one empty section of the train.

She opened the door before quickly realizing that the part of the train she was in wasn't as empty as she had originally thought.

She first saw the tell-tale signs of trouble when she caught a glimpse of the trademark Malfoy platinum blonde hair and immediately tensed.

Anything involving Malfoy was never a good sign.

As she went to leave the compartment, the door quickly slammed shut, locking. She felt her heart beat faster in a panic.

"Leaving so soon, Mudblood?" Draco's voice sneered. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Fuck off Malfoy. I'm not in the mood to deal with your petty name-calling. Just unlock the door and we can just forget this happened.

Draco tilted his head to the side slightly, almost as if contemplating what she was asking before motioning to Theo and Blaise.

Hermione thought that he was going to let her leave, but her hopes were quickly dashed when Malfoy's two cronies grabbed her by each arm, forcing her over to sit by the blonde sociopath.

She fought the two of them, but was unable to fight the two of them off by herself.

Draco motioned for the two of them to leave, while curling his hand around her wrist, preventing her from sprinting as soon as the door was opened.

Once Theo and Blaise had left, Hermione felt herself descend into a sense of panic.

"Whatever you're thinking about doing, Malfoy, I would suggest you stop to think that I'm the new Head Girl, and your actions have consequences," she said, feeling as if she was pleading with him rather than threatening him.

Draco's lips twitched into a smirk.

"No, I don't think I'm going to let you pass through my fingers, Granger."

Hermione didn't like the way he said this, almost as if she were a fly caught in his rather beautiful but deadly trap. She made another attempt to leave, resulting in Malfoy grabbing both of her wrists and pulling her close to him. She felt a wave of fear rise in her throat.

"I've watched you for so long, Granger. I've watched as your two pathetic excuses for friends left you and hurt you and ignored you. You deserve better, don't you think?" he whispered to her, peppermint breath flowing coolly over her cheeks. "I could give you better. I could give you everything you want, for just a small, tiny, infinitesimal price-you," he murmured, running his fingers through her hair, and ignoring the look of disgust in her eyes.

"I could never want you, Malfoy. I _hate_ you. I've hated you for seven years and I don't plan to stop it now. After everything you've done to me and my friends, you don't deserve me. You don't deserve anyone," she spat, once again attempting to free herself from his herculean grip. Again, she failed.

"What if I tried changing, then?" he asked. Hermione almost fell out of the seat in shock. Draco Malfoy? Change? She must be dreaming. The only thing he knew how to change was his Italian leather shoes.

"Oh, yeah? And what would you do to change, huh? Maybe by stop trying to kill innocent animals, or by not treating everyone as if they're dirt beneath your shoes? Stop wasting my time, Malfoy. I don't need someone like you in my life." And with that finally off of her chest, Hermione found enough strength to push Malfoy away from her enough to get away from him and out of the newly unlocked door.

She quickly found her old compartment and slid into it.

Harry and Ron were both still there.

"So, did you finally cool down?" Ron asked her. Hermione forced a small smile and began packing up her books. The train was stopping soon at Hogwarts.

"Bloody mental, that one." Hermione heard Ron 'whisper', not as subtly as he most likely thought.

The only thing she was looking forward to was just getting to her Head Girl dorms and finally getting some much needed alone time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm updating a little early because starting tomorrow, I'll be gone for a clarinet thing and I won't have access to my laptop. Hopefully you like this chapter, and I'll try my best to continue writing once I get back :)**

 _"Reality has teeth and claws. It's rarely pretty and never fair." Kaitlin Bevis_

Hermione gasped when she walked through the door into her Head Girl dorm. Her own common room! It had neutral beige curtains and decorations with a black sofa. There was even a grand piano! She had never been able to play it, but regardless, it was absolutely gorgeous.

She walked up the staircase that lead to her very own room. She had her very own king sized, four poster bed. The wood felt antique, but sturdy. Her sheets felt like silk, and she charmed them to turn into a soft gold color.

Hermione turned and collapsed on her bed. She allowed a slightly hysterical giggle to escape her mouth, while pumping her fist in the air.

Her fight with Harry and Ron was inconsequential now. She felt so proud of her new room and nothing could bring her down.

She began unpacking her suitcase with a large grin on her face, feeling giddy.

Eventually, she began to hear a soft melody enter her room. It sounded…familiar. She knew she had heard it before, but couldn't quite think of the right name.

Hermione walked out of the room and realized that the beautiful music was coming from the piano. She gasped. Was it perhaps charmed by the Headmaster? She made a mental reminder to thank him for his thoughtfulness, before returning to her room and continuing to unpack her clothes.

Before leaving her parents for the school year, Hermione's mother took her shopping for some nicer clothes. Being Head Girl, she was allowed to wear different clothes underneath her robes, and she was extremely excited to finally wear something other than the stuffy uniform.

After all, she hated skirts, and found it stupid that girls at Hogwarts were forced to wear her most hated article of clothing.

Her mother had helped her pick out nice pairs of pants and jeans, and while Hermione initially found it foolishly girly, she couldn't help but feel excited about her new wardrobe.

Suddenly, Hermione heard an extremely dissonant chord and inwardly cringed before hearing a loud curse from downstairs.

Her brow furrowed. Was the Head Boy here?

 _Maybe that piano wasn't charmed after all. Whoever was playing that piano was really talented, though,_ Hermione thought. _Perhaps he could teach me how to play!_

With that thought in mind, Hermione rushed down the stairs to greet her fellow Head.

The sight of platinum blonde hair stopped her in her tracks.

Malfoy. Malfoy was the new Head Boy.

 _That's impossible! Professor McGonagall told me that he would be a Ravenclaw!_ Hermione thought miserably

Draco noticed her presence immediately. He stepped away from the piano and turned to face her, smirking.

"Surprised, mudblood?" he sneered. Hermione felt all of her previous energy gone. How could this have happened?

"You! I was told that a Ravenclaw would be my Head partner," she said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Malfoy shrugged with a grin.

"There was a change in plans," he answered with a devious glint in his eyes. Hermione didn't believe a word he said.

"I'm going to McGonagall immediately," she threatened, heading straight for the portrait. To her surprise-and relief-Malfoy didn't follow her or attempt to stop her.

Hermione headed straight to the Transfiguration professor's office and knocked on the door.

As soon as Minerva saw her, she knew what the young woman was there to talk about. With a sigh, she let Hermione in and began making her a cup of tea.

"Professor, you told me over the summer that the Head Boy was going to be a Ravenclaw. Why is Draco Malfoy in the Head dormitory?" Hermione asked, feeling slighted.

"My dear, the boy who was supposed to take the title of Head Boy decided at the last minute to drop out of the duties. He claimed that he wanted to focus on his studies in the hopes of attaining an apprenticeship. I can't honestly say I blame him, either, Hermione. He's been wanting to go into Herbology for years and Pomona Sprout has offered him the possibility of an apprenticeship if he was able to prove to her that he was dedicated to his work. With him gone, Draco Malfoy was next on our list. He has nearly perfect grades, and many of the Slytherins respect him, which-unfortunately-I can't say that they respect you, Miss Granger."

With a resigned sigh, Hermione nodded. Everything McGonagall said made sense, after all.

It wasn't fair to deny Malfoy the position simply because she didn't get along with him.

"I understand professor. Thank you for the tea," Hermione said softly.

She felt frustrated tears brewing behind her eyes. Why was this year turning out to be so rotten? She had worked _so_ hard for this position and now, she had to share it with _him_.

Hermione felt almost sick to her stomach at the realization that she would have to share her quarters with Malfoy. She would have to share the common room with him.

All of her hopes of having a peaceful year were dashed.

She wasn't sure who she could talk to about her predicament. Harry and Ron were still sore about the train ride, and Ginny hasn't really liked her since she turned down Ron's advances. For the first time in a very long time, Hermione felt very alone.

She headed back to the dorms, praying along the way that Malfoy would be gone with his friends.

"Unity," she said to the Persephone portrait. The woman smiled and opened up the entrance to the rooms.

Upon entering, she could hear a melancholy piano piece coming from the common room.

It seemed as though her prayers went unanswered yet again.

She tried to be as quiet as possible to avoid alerting Malfoy to her presence, but to no avail. His eyes met hers as soon as she tried walking up to her room.

"Granger," he greeted with another one of his famous smirks. Hermione narrowed her eyes and began walking up to her room. "What, no 'hello' for me, mudblood?" he taunted.

Hermione clenched her fists and turned to face him. He was sneering at her.

"Stop calling me that," she snarled. "I'm sick of you thinking that because you have magical parents that you're any better than I am, because you aren't. My blood is just as magical as yours is and you have no right calling me that name," she spat out. Her chest was slightly heaving, and her face felt hot. Hermione felt that it was finally time to stop letting the ferret walk all over her. _If we're going to share dorms, I'm going to put a stop to his pathetic name-calling,_ she thought angrily.

"Oh? I have no right, mudblood? I think you'll soon find that I can do whatever I choose to do. There's nothing you can do about it," Draco taunted.

Hermione went up to her safe with her galleons and brought down all of it. It was all of her savings since third year. She slammed it down on Malfoy's lap, causing him to look at her with an eyebrow slightly raised.

"What is this, Granger?"

Hermione took a deep breath and said, "it's my savings. I'm willing to give you all of the galleons I have if you agree to stop calling me derogatory names."

Draco chuckled.

"This is nothing more than mere purse change. It's meaningless. What is this, three hundred galleons? Pathetic. I have more galleons sitting around in my robes than your entire life savings." Draco narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "However, I consider myself a decent person and-I'm going to ignore that snort, Granger-I will cease my 'insulting comments' towards you for a small cost," he wagered.

Hermione stared at him for a while. She knew quite well not to make deals with the devil, but she truly was sick of him insulting her blood and her family.

"Name your price, Malfoy," she spat at him.

"I'll stop calling you a mudblood if you stop calling me by my last name. You may only call me Draco, and also I want you to let me kiss you, just once, when and where I wish," he stated. Hermione felt her stomach turn in revulsion.

"I'll call you by your first name, but no deal on the kiss," she said, glaring at him. He shrugged.

"Then no deal, mudblood."

Hermione felt the urge to punch his angled face until it was unrecognizable.

"Why, Malfoy? Why do you want to kiss me? Go after Pansy, or Astoria. They're much more your speed," she cried.

Draco narrowed his eyes.

"I don't want any of them. They're all pathetic whores, trying to secure me as a husband for my name and money. I want you. I don't see why I should explain myself. One kiss on my own terms and call me by my first name, and you'll never hear me call you a mudblood again," he promised, leering at her.

Hermione closed her eyes, willing her lunch not to reappear, and stepped towards him, bracing herself against the piano. Draco's eyes began to darken, as he pulled her closer to him. She took a deep breath and carefully placed her mouth on his.

His lips were strangely smooth. Smoother than hers, actually. Hermione quickly pushed any thoughts about his lips out of her mind before pulling back.

"There, you had your kiss, Malfoy."

Draco sneered at her.

"You call that a kiss, mudblood? You were cringing the entire time. I guess you don't actually want me to stop stating the obvious, which is that you always have been, and always will be, a mudbl-" Hermione cut him off with another kiss, letting him run his fingers through her hair. _This is for the good of muggleborns, Hermione_ , she thought in her mind. Draco traced her jawline with the back of his finger, before running his tongue along her bottom lip.

Hermione pulled away. She felt slightly breathless. _Fuck. If only he wasn't such an evil piece of spoiled shit,_ she lamented silently.

"Fine Malfoy, you got what you wanted. Now you're going to stop calling me that disgusting name," she demanded proudly.

Draco chuckled. "Oh, I don't quite think so, Granger. I asked you for a kiss whenever and wherever I wished. Thank you, though, for your free kisses, love."

With that being said, he got up from his seat at the piano and headed upstairs.

Hermione stood in the common room in shock.

Merlin, why was she so _stupid_? She knew better than to trust a Slytherin for anything.

 _Leave it up to Malfoy to cut the whole deal down to semantics,_ she thought bitterly.

Hermione felt a childish sense of victory when she called him by his last name in her mind.

 _Take that, Malfoy!_

Hermione smiled slightly, and went to her room, warding it and locking it so she wouldn't be subject to any unwanted visitors.

She faltered when she realized that she could still taste him in her mouth.


	3. Chapter 3

_"I love you so much that nothing can matter to me - not even you...Only my love- not your answer. Not even your indifference." -Ayn Rand; The Fountainhead_

Hermione was working herself into a panic when she realized that Draco could kiss her anywhere he wanted to.

She almost felt like it might be worth it to call off the deal and go back to letting him call her that wretched word.

No. No, she had come too far to let him start calling her that again.

Hermione just resolved not to let him get close enough to her in public for him to kiss her. In fact, other than the classes they shared together, Hermione made sure to avoid him as much as possible, even going so far as to start getting up earlier than normal to use the restroom and shower so she wouldn't even have to speak to him.

When she was in advanced potions, she made sure to sit on opposite sides of the classroom to brew, even subjecting herself to being partners with Neville, who tended to earn the both of them lower grades the more they worked together.

Eventually, Hermione just told him to procure the ingredients and she would do the rest.

Of course, this pissed off Professor Snape, and it caused him to announce that he would be forming groups that night and that each person would have a new partner the next day.

Hermione froze when he announced this before relaxing. He would never force Malfoy to work with her. As far as he knew, Malfoy and she were mortal enemies.

She relaxed and began packing up at the end of class.

All she wanted to do was to go back to her dorms and take a nap.

She grabbed her book bag and walked out of the classroom, trying to ignore the pang in her heart when Harry and Ron both ignored her smile towards them.

"Hello, Hermione," Malfoy whispered in her ear, grabbing her bag and hoisting it over his shoulder.

"Fuck off Malfoy, I'm not in the mood," she glowered. Malfoy's expression changed quickly.

"Has the mudblood forgotten our deal so quickly? Must be because of her inferior genetics," he taunted, grabbing a curl of her hair and tugging on it roughly.

Hermione winced, feeling like a cornered animal.

"Okay, okay…Draco."

Draco relaxed slightly and loosened his grip on her hair. He still refused to stop touching it, though. Hermione stopped walking until he let go of her. Once he removed his hand from her hair, she took off as quickly as possible. She didn't even care that he still had her bag. She just wanted to get the hell away from him.

Of course, being only slightly over five feet tall, Hermione didn't stand much of a chance at avoiding Malfoy. He was much faster than she was and had much longer legs, too.

"Where are you going?"

Hermione huffed when she realized that no matter how fast she walked, the blonde ferret was always right beside her. Eventually, she just gave up and walked at her usual pace.

She was infuriated when she noticed both how out of breath she was and how unbothered Malfoy was.

"I'm going to my room, Draco. Give me my bookbag and I'll be on my way," she said, holding out her hand expectantly. Draco didn't give her bag back. If anything, his grip on it tightened.

"I'm heading to the Head common room, so I'll just follow you, Granger."

Hermione resisted the urge to scream in the middle of the hallway, knowing that would attract more attention than she already had, what with the 'Slytherin Prince' following her around and occasionally reaching out to touch her hair.

She figured that the best course of action would just be to let him do what he wanted. So far, he wasn't threatening at all. In fact, if it had been anyone else, she might have been flattered. But this was Malfoy. The most arrogant git she had ever had the displeasure of knowing. He wouldn't do anything helpful unless it was something that also benefitted him. _He must be up to something_ , Hermione thought suspiciously. _Why else would he be carrying my book bag and following me?_

When they made it back to their dorms, Hermione grabbed her bag and ran up the stairs. The sooner she could get away from him, the better.

She heard Draco walk out of the dorm and sighed with relief.

Hermione's brow furrowed.

 _Why did he follow me to the dorms if he left as soon as we got here?_

* * *

Voldemort's meetings tended to become much more frequent now that he was ready to end the war. He knew exactly what he needed to do to win.

He called his most trusted spy, Snape, who appeared in front of him within minutes.

Performing legilimency on him, he learned that the mudblood seemed to be avoiding Draco at all costs. This didn't bode well for his plans.

"Severus, make sure that the mudblood and Draco are kept together," he ordered. "We need to keep Draco happy if we are ever going to win this war, and the mudblood is the only way to do so."

His spy nodded and bowed his head in deference.

"You may leave, Severus."

With a pop, the potions master disappeared.

Voldemort felt a grin appear on his face. Yes, Draco would find this very acceptable indeed.

 _Let the chips fall as they may,_ Voldemort thought. He may question his heir's sanity for choosing a mudblood out of all the beautiful, pureblooded women he put in front of him, but if this is what it took to secure the youngest Malfoy at his side, then so be it.

* * *

Hermione went to breakfast in the Great Hall, but as soon as she entered through the doors, everyone went quiet. She froze, before making her way to Gryffindor's table. Ginny glared at her, which was to be expected. Harry and Ron gave her incredulous stares as she sat down next to them.

"Why are you over here, Slytherin slut?" Ron hissed at her, before shoving a forkful of potatoes into his mouth. Hermione was so shocked that she couldn't do much more than just stare at him, her mouth agape.

"Hermione, are the rumors true? Are you sleeping with Malfoy?" Harry asked, his fists clenched.

"What? No! Why would you even think that?" Hermione cried. What had happened? Who had spread such a malicious rumor?

"Everyone's been talking, 'Mione. This big group of Hufflepuffs saw you with Malfoy yesterday after Potions. They said that he took your bag and carried it for you and that they saw him play with your hair and you _let_ him!" Ron snarled.

"Okay! Yes, Draco took my bookbag for me, and he touched my hair, but there was never anything else! He saw that I was walking alone and since neither of you two were walking with me," Hermione cut off in the middle of her sentence to glare at her two shamefaced friends. "He decided that he wanted to follow me, that's all." Harry narrowed his eyes at her.

" _That's all?!"_

"Why did you call him by his first name?" Harry asked, eerily calm.

Hermione froze. How on earth could she explain what happened? They would think she was an idiot and that she had turned to the dark side.

"Hermione. Why did you call Malfoy by his first name?" Harry pressed, his face turning slightly red.

"Listen, Harry, I know you hate Malfoy. I do too. But I realized that since we're going to be Head Boy and Head Girl together this year, I need to start getting along with him. Yesterday I told him that he would stop calling me the M word. Obviously, he refused, but I got all my galleons I've been saving up and I gave them to him. Then, he insulted how little money I had and told me to keep the galleons and that he would stop calling me that word in exchange for me calling him his first name," she finished. Both Harry and Ron looked dubious, but Hermione put on a smile as to not alert their suspicions any further. Eventually the two of them relaxed and started eating again.

"Hermione, I wanted to apologize to you about what I said on the train ride. It was downright sorry of me. And Ron here has something he would like to say to you, too," Harry spoke up, thrusting his elbow into Ron's ribs. Ron grunted before mumbling out an unintelligible apology to Hermione, who sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Ron. I know you guys were tired of hearing me talk about the position. I understand," Hermione said, before getting up to head off to Arithmancy. "We're still friends, yeah?" She asked, waiting for the two of them to nod in unison before turning around and leaving.

Unfortunately for her, Malfoy was also in this class. Still, she normally sat as far away from him as possible, and she could continue to do so.

Once she walked into the class, her usual seat was taken, and the only seats left were next to an unfriendly looking Ravenclaw, who put his bookbag down on the seat next to him as soon as she looked at his table, and Malfoy.

Hermione clenched her teeth. She knew he had something to do with the new seating.

She went up to the Ravenclaw.

"Can I sit here, please?" she asked him politely. His faced twisted into a sneer and he looked away from her, keeping his bag in the seat. She sighed and turned to face Malfoy. He was smirking expectantly and patted the seat next to him. Hermione braced herself for the worst and slowly walked to sit next to him.

"Good morning, Hermione," Draco greeted with a nasty grin on his face. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't call me by my first name. I don't like it," she said angrily. Draco made a mocked hurt face and pouted slightly.

"But, Hermione, you call me by my first name, why can't I say yours?" he simpered mockingly, knowing full well that the people behind them could hear what he was saying.

"You know that's just a part of the deal. Just shut up, and let me focus," Hermione snapped. Draco raised an eyebrow and leaned in with his mouth close to her ear.

"I would be nice to me if I were you, Hermione. After all, I decide when and where I get to snog you senseless. It wouldn't do well for you if it was in front of all of your friends, now would it?"

Hermione fought back a shudder. Whether it was because of his words or his proximity, she wasn't sure.

Again, she felt cornered and anxious. Hopefully the class would pass quickly and without incident.

It didn't. Not with Draco grabbing sections of her hair and playing with it randomly. Hermione slapped his hand away more times than she cared to count, and she already knew that the lunchtime gossip was going to be worse than usual.

She groaned inwardly and went back to her notes, trying desperately to ignore _his_ hands running through her hair.

He smelled of peppermint and sandalwood.

She loved sandalwood.

She just didn't love it when it was coming from him.

 _Why does he have to be so perfect?_ Hermione lamented miserably. _It would be so much easier to spur his advances if he was hideous._

She tried to imagine him as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside, and found that it was impossible for her to do so.

She felt cursed by the gods. Why is it that he had to bother her? Why not someone who wanted his advances?

All he was doing was making her uncomfortable and causing everyone to talk about her.

Of course, the teachers loved it. Apparently, they were talking about them as if they were the star-crossed lovers of Hogwarts, the Romeo and Juliet that graced their halls.

All the girls in Draco's little fan club glared at her whenever she passed any of them in the hallways. She didn't even like the ferret!

Hermione sighed and went back to her notes.

Draco was still touching her hair.

She felt like a spineless fool.

Hell, she was a spineless fool.


	4. Chapter 4

**I need everyone to know that in this story, the characters aren't going to act the exact same as they did in the books. Given the fact that the war is eminent and that it's very likely that the good side will lose, everyone's stressed and tightly wound. The emotions coming from the stress will serve to further isolate Hermione, which is what I'm trying to go for. It would make it that much easier for Malfoy to swoop her up from underneath her friends' noses.**

 **Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know this so that you aren't confused or upset about the characters. I'm going to try my best to keep the story going well. I hope I can meet everyone's expectations.**

 **Thanks!**

In her last class period, Hermione nearly broke down into tears. Professor Snape announced that he was placing people into groups based upon how talented they were in potions, as he was going to have them complete a very significant potions project and didn't want the pairs unevenly matched.

Harry was placed with Ronald, Seamus with Neville, Pansy was placed with Dean Thomas.

And Hermione was placed with _him_. The devil incarnate. The smirking ferret.

Ron sent her a glare as if the new partner arrangement was somehow her fault before starting to discuss with Harry what kind of potion they wanted to make.

Hermione tried her best not to even look at Malfoy. He was most likely the reason this happened. _He probably went running to his daddy and had him get Snape to change the partners around,_ Hermione thought bitterly.

"Well, Hermione? Are you just going to stand around doing nothing? We need to discuss what potion we want to make," Malfoy admonished. Hermione turned to him, glaring her eyes and clenching her teeth.

"I _hate_ you, Draco. I know you're responsible for this, and I hate you _so_ much," she spat out, anger causing her entire body to shake. Draco let out a little laugh.

"And what makes you think that, _Hermione?_ " He drew out every single syllable in her name while leaning in close to her. His nose was nearly touching hers. Suddenly, he moved away to retrieve ingredients for a potion that Hermione didn't even decide that she wanted to make.

Harry and Ron gave her a glare at the same time, and Hermione cursed Malfoy yet again while he smirked at her.

* * *

Hermione fell back onto her bed with a sigh. Harry and Ron confronted her again today, all with truths that she couldn't deny. Hell, she couldn't have even tried to deny it. She always was a horrible liar.

It appears they were taking another break from being friends. These 'friendship breaks' seemed to happen more and more often now.

Hermione clenched her teeth. That blonde bastard was ruining her entire life!

She had no one to stand beside her now. No friends. Most of the Gryffindors believed that she was an evil death eater slut, and without Harry and Ron's approval, no one from her house wanted to be near her.

What did she do to deserve this?

She heard a piano melody flowing softly up the stairs and into her room.

Why was it that someone so awful could be so beautiful, intelligent, _and_ talented?

Nothing about Draco Malfoy was fair.

He was terrible, but karma never seemed to come around and bite _him_ in the arse.

Why did he want her?

Whatever did she do to draw his attention?

We've only ever shared insults and sneers, she thought, feeling very confused.

Hermione began going through all their previous encounters in her head, trying to figure out just what could have attracted him to her.

* * *

 _I_ _t was wintertime in Diagon Alley, and Hermione was beaming. This was her favorite time of the year. It was snowing gently, and the perfect temperature for a nice, steaming cup of hot cocoa._

 _Everything seemed to go to sleep in the winter. Hermione loved the way the ice crunched beneath her boots and the way the leaves left the trees._

 _Brown was one of her favorite colors, and brown seemed to be one of winter's most common colors._

" _Hey, mudblood! Trying to catch your death out here? Don't let me stop you; go ahead and drop dead," Malfoy sneered from behind her. Hermione flinched, caught off guard, but she wasn't going to let someone like him ruin her day. Not today._

" _Oh, shove it, Malfoy. I'm just trying to enjoy the weather. It's beautiful here," she proclaimed, looking up at the sky and sticking out her tongue in an attempt to catch a few snowflakes on the tip of her tongue. Malfoy grimaced._

" _The weather is terrible, Granger. It's cold and wet and disgusting. It figures that a mudblood like you would like the worst season of all," he finished with a smirk. Hermione didn't seem to notice his jeers, though, because she was sliding around on the ice covering the cobblestone paths, laughing._

" _Come off of it, Malfoy! Skate with me!"_

 _Without giving him a chance to retort, she grabbed his hand and forced him alongside her, sliding around on the ice._

 _Draco quickly lost his balance and fell, pulling her down with her. Hermione landed on top of him with a grunt and he was startled at how utterly warm she was. Quickly, he came to his senses and shoved her away from his person._

" _Get off me, mudblood!" he shouted, grabbing her and throwing her from his body. He heard her gasp before she fell onto the stone ground. She blinked a few times before getting back up and resuming her impromptu ice skating, only now, much further away from Malfoy._

 _She already decided: he wasn't going to ruin her day._

* * *

Hermione continued to think on that memory. Was it possible that the incident in Diagon Alley was the catalyst that set off Malfoy's crazed obsession?

It just didn't make sense to her. He shoved her to the ground and she caused him to fall on the ice. None of that would seem to be a reason for liking her.

Hermione knew she couldn't just ask him. What if it made him want to be near her more?

No, the less that she could have contact with him, the better off she would be.

* * *

Hermione woke from a dream that she was now quickly forgetting, trying to go back to sleep. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, but it felt like something was watching her.

 _Or someone_ , her brain chimed in.

Hermione sighed, trying not to let her paranoia take over. She rolled over and let out an earsplitting scream, trying to get out of her bed and only succeeding in kicking at the covers and falling onto the ground.

A pair of feet appeared in front of her face.

"Hello, Hermione," Draco greeted, his sharp facial angles more pronounced by the moonlight filtering in from the window.

Hermione shrieked again, scrambling to her feet. Draco grabbed her around the waist, keeping her from running away.

"What the hell are you doing in my bedroom, Malfoy?!" She screamed, lashing out at his chest with her fists and elbows. Draco didn't budge.

"Tsk, tsk, Granger, remember our deal? It appears you continue to forget it. Perhaps we should change the deal slightly," he whispered in her ear. Hermione whimpered for him to let her go, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. "For each time to screw up our little deal, I add another kiss. Maybe that will help you remember what we both promised, hm?"

Hermione struggled against him, her mind panicking. She could feel his hands closing around her wrists, squeezing tighter and tighter.

"Deal, just let me go! Now!" she cried. Draco let her go as soon as she began struggling again, causing her to fall and land on her arm. Hermione exclaimed in pain, before curling into a ball, cradling her injured extremity.

Draco sighed in annoyance.

"Now look at what you've done, you stupid girl. Come here," he said, picking her up again. Hermione began to fight against him again, but he quickly had her pinned against him. Maybe to prevent her from getting hurt more, or perhaps just so that he could hold her against him. Hermione was positive it was the latter.

Draco laid her onto her bed, before grabbing his wand and casting a spell on it just enough to heal it, but not enough to take away the pain. After all, he did have his own plans in mind.

Hermione had starting crying from the pain of her injury, and curled up into the fetal position, hiding her face from Draco.

He laid next to her, and cast a small sleeping charm on her.

She was warm.

* * *

When Hermione woke, the stinging pain in her arm was a vivid reminder that what had happened last night or early that morning was anything but a dream.

She felt an arm tighten around her stomach and thrashed against him.

 _The bastard was sleeping in my bed!_ She thought with a crazed tone.

"Get off of me, asshole! Get out of my bed!" she screamed, kicking and throwing her head back against him. Draco sat up in her bed and grinned at her. Her face fell. She didn't remember anything after he healed her arm.

"Did you-did we sleep together?" she almost whispered. Draco smirked. He leaned in close to her.

"Yes," he answered.

Hermione began shaking as she desperately tried to remember anything from last night. All she could come up with was him scaring her half to death by spying on her while she was sleeping and him healing her arm.

"No, no I would have remembered if we did," she whispered to herself, still trembling. She became aware of Draco shaking against her.

The bastard was laughing!

"We didn't have sex, Hermione. But I did sleep with you. You talk in your sleep, you know," he mentioned casually. Her jaw dropped and she slapped him across the face.

"Asshole! You made me believe that we- that we had _sex_! What the hell is wrong with you?!" She yelled, pushing him away from her. She briefly realized that he revealed her long-kept secret of her nightly sleep-talking, but she was distracted again as Draco fell on to her pillow, laughing earnestly. Hermione stopped in her tracks.

Draco never laughed like that. If anything, he chuckled maliciously. But this-this sounded almost…human.

He looked into her eyes, grey clashing with brown. Hermione broke eye contact first, looking anywhere but at him.

"Even you have to admit that was hilarious," he wheezed, slightly out of breath. Hermione glared at him.

"Get out of my room, Malfoy."

And with that, she went into her bathroom before remembering another bit from earlier. Her eyes widened in horror and she walked back into her room to see if Draco had noticed her slip.

His grey eyes were glinting with mischief.

"I believe you agreed to the change in our deal, Hermione. It seems as though I get two kisses. And you won't know when or where it will happen," he finished nastily.

"No, no! I was barely awake when I agreed to that! You can't hold that against me, Draco!" she cried.

"Perhaps you should watch your mouth a bit more carefully now, Granger. You wouldn't want any more accidental…slips of the tongue, now would we?"

Draco slipped out of her room, leaving her distressed and panicked.

 _What have I just done?_


End file.
